Abbas Offers Condolences to Terrorist's Family

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday called Hamas leader Ahmed Yousef and offered his condolences over the death of his brother, who was one of the terrorists killed in an Israeli air strike near Rafiah on Wednesday night, Kol Yisrael radio reported.

Yousef’s brother was a member of “The Al-Aqsa Defenders” organization, which is supported by Hamas. He was killed in an attack on his vehicle as he was traveling with another member of his squad.

The IDF said that one of the terrorists who were killed in the air strike had been planning to carry out a terror attack within Israel which was almost completed.

The second terrorist was in the past a member of the Popular Resistance Committees and had been arrested and interrogated. During his interrogation he admitted to being involved in the smuggling of two terrorists into Egypt for the purpose of carrying out suicide bombing attacks in Israel. He was also involved in weapons trafficking, according to the IDF.

About ten days ago IAF aircraft struck a weapon manufacturing site, a center of terrorist activity and a terrorist tunnel in northern Gaza, as well as a smuggling tunnel in southern Gaza.

Direct hits were detected and all aircraft returned safely to their bases.

The attack came one night after terrorists from Gaza fired two Grad missiles at southern Israel. One of the missiles hit a home in the city of Netivot.

A man who was sleeping in the home at the time of the attack was saved by an early-warning siren and a quick escape from his bedroom.